The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) Drawdown 2021 Conference on Research to Action: Science and Solutions for a Planet Under Pressure positions itself to have broader impact through framing, design, implementation, and post-conference engagement and collaboration. In particular, the partnership with Project Drawdown ensures weaving together of two networks focused on enhancing science and solutions that otherwise may not have connected. NCSE has deep expertise in both the theory and practice of evidence-use in decision making and knowledge on how to design interactions to promote effective “boundary spanning,†the process that ensures that the knowledge that is produced is actually useful to decision-makers, and accessible at the right time and in the right format. As with other NCSE conferences, this event is designed to optimize strategic dialogue among communities with the goal of generating solution-based outcomes. NCSE is working to design a conference that exemplifies “convergence-in-action,†tapping into the transformational potential of one of NSF’s 10 Big Ideas. Through the partnership with Project Drawdown, emergent research questions will help catalyze the solutions-driven focus in the second half of the conference.
This proposal requests support for the 2021 NCSE Annual Conference which plans to emphasize a systems-approach to the effects of heat, water, and the COVID-19 pandemic as a threat multiplier -examining both impacts and solutions. NCSE 2021, Research to Action: Science and Solutions for a Planet Under Pressure, will explore the links between the changes in Earth’s physical systems and its social institutions. The primary objectives of the conference are to convene, connect, and engage diverse participants to make connections, build partnerships, and work collaboratively toward solutions. The conference will be held from January 5–9, 2021 in partnership with Project Drawdown and will encourage cross-disciplinary and innovative discussions about the changing conditions and interactions of intensifying heat, water scarcity, and impaired water quality on a host of integrated systems, including food provisioning, food system security, and the global supply chain. The partnership with Project Drawdown enables the NCSE conference to mobilize science to explore: (a) the physical effects of climate change and how these are linked to social institutions; and (b) how implementing climate solutions produces positive co-benefits to society, the economy, and the planet.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
